Surprises, the latest work from renowned playwright Alan Ayckbourn, is a strange beast.

In it, the playwright indulges in experimentalism heavily-- but with highly-mixed results. Occasionally moments of hilarity occur; however this is never met with pathos.

Surprises may be brimming with compelling ideas, but it has left compelling characters at the door.

The play follows a three-act structure: act one deals with teenage love and longing, act two with the complications of adult romance and act three with the consequences of the first two acts.

The plot is tightly linked, so much so that it allows the characters little room to breathe.

Set in the future, amongst time machines, androids and hugely extended lifespans, Ayckbourn analyses what the fate of love will be in the future, where everything is manipulated and controlled to the genetic level.

His conclusions are confused, as a result so is the play itself.

The three-act structure feels as though we are watching three self-contained one act plays as opposed to one cohesive three parter.

Although the first act lags considerably, the second picks things up in style. Here we are introduced to by far the most memorable character, Jan the android.

Jan has been 'modified' to allow him to use humour (albeit clumsily) and white lies. However, the inconsistencies of human nature continue to befuddle him in the extreme, and often to humorous effect.

Richard Stacey plays the character with a particular brittle innocence, truly a standout amongst a largely talented cast.

But despite his and his fellow actors' best efforts, the play does not work.

It falls into the pitfall that is the fate of much sci-fi: favouring ideas over characters.  

Some sections are dull, the plot is occasionally incomprehensible and the characters largely lifeless.

Surprises is indeed a surprise but not the pleasant kind.